The Storyteller | Mary Vee

Photo by Mary Vee taken in Venice, Italy Each morning we have an opportunity to come to a feast. We wake. Perhaps exercise. Shower off the sleep. Maybe have a hot beverage. Then comes...and actually this can be before any of the steps above, the opportunity to feast at the banquet. What banquet is this? One that offers delicacies that are sweeter than the honeycomb. Food that brings more than strength to the body and brightens the eyes. Nourishment that does more than sustains life. It invigorates life. Gives more comfort than any chocolate or other "comfort food" This banquet has a menu that exceeds expectations of every palate whether spicy as in Indian, Asian cuisine, southern American, Italian, French, Hungarian, or Russian.  It satisfies the greatest hunger. And best of all, everyone is invited... including you! The location is easy to find and requires no help from Siri, Google, or Map Quest. Are you interested? Our Host...

Julie Lessman is my guest today and her Cinderella story is one for all of us. Cinderella's Influence My journey as an author actually came LONG before my journey with God. It happened the moment I read  Gone With the Wind  at the age of twelve. The instant that Scarlett seared Rhett with a look on the winding staircase of Twelve Oaks, I was hooked.  Fast forward almost forty years later—I was sitting in a beauty parlor reading a  Newsweek  magazine cover article about Christian entertainment. It said Christian books, movies and music were on the threshold of exploding. My heart jumped, and something in my spirit said, “It’s time to finish your book.”  Now, I have to be honest with you—up until that moment, I had never seriously considered writing a book. But the pull was so strong I started writing and ended up selling the book to Revell.  Happily ever after, right? My jour...

An intriguing topic came up recently. A fun puzzle of sorts. The olive tree produces a fruit that is eaten straight off the tree. It is also squished into a fine olive oil. Olive trees grow in Italy (I know because I saw them on my visit there.) They also grow in the middle east and a gazillion other places. Now, step into a time machine, and travel back to Noah's time. The rains are falling from the heavens in torrents. The storm is so bad it floods the entire planet. Days pass. Eight people are hiding in a boat floating in rising water. They feed animals. Eat meals. Talk. Listen to the storm.  Then one day, to test if there is dry land to place their put feet, Noah sends out a bird. The bird flies back to him. There is no place for the bird to land. Noah waits then repeats the test two more times. The third time the bird comes back with Wait for it An olive branch. How is it that an olive tree survived the flood?  A time when ...

Fay Lamb is my guest today. She fought against the very career that would bring her happiness until one day after her grandmother passed away. Not Recommended: Flinging Yourself Off a Cliff  to Avoid God's Will God does work in mysterious ways, but one secret He has never kept from me is His plan for me to write for Him. Well, let me rephrase that…I’ve never doubted I would write. Even when I wanted to throw it all away, I understood that words were in my blood and characters were my best friends. And then one day following the loss of maybe the dearest person in my life—my grandmother, God whispered in my ear and said, “You will write for Me.” I hadn’t been living a life that would make Grandma proud, and I surely wasn’t glorying God with the choices I’d made and even those I would make afterward. My life was filled with sorrow, pain, and grief, but God had a purpose for me, no matter how much I railed against it. And I knew it. ...

Remember the school Valentines Day party? Your mom bought Valentine cards she thought you'd like. She gave you something to write with and had you print the names of your classmates on the cards. The next day, the cards were delivered to homemade boxes sitting on each students' desk. The only part we as kids really cared about was the treats. As an adult, Valentines Day takes on a different light. Summer in Traverse City, photo by Mary Vee Hubby sat at the dining room table yesterday and said, "How would you like to go to Traverse City on Tuesday?"  Well, well, the man has learned to speak my love language: Time with him. Travel. Nature. Boats, water, sand dunes, groves, vines, light houses, yeah. God's creation. Score ten for hubby. So while you are reading this post, I will be  out. At the lake, in the woods, on the sand dunes. But.... I have some idea starters for your Valentines Day.  One friend said she has a birthday on Valentines...

Writing about social issues meets an important need. We see how characters deal with bullying, addictions, abuse, and other issues in the safety of our home. We garner ideas to tuck away. God forbid any of you should face some of these issues. Whether you do or someone you know has, today's post is one to tuck away. Today's guest is an author who has plunged into this field. Tackling Social Issues Through Stories In the past few years my faith has deepened. Actually it has grown quite a bit through the years I've written for the Christian market. God led me to write inspirational stories in the late 1990s. At first I ignored the nudge, but as the Lord so often does, he kept nudging me until I took up the challenge. And of course, he was so right. I found my writing home in the Christian market. Several times in the past few years I've seen God actively working in my life. First, he gave me a story I had to tell. It became the first b...

Spring break is soon approaching.  Hard to believe on these chilly days of winter, but it is. Teens, men, women, and families head for the beach and snatch as many sun rays as they can before heading back to their snowy homes. Like everyday life, even the most prepared can be caught unaware. A few weeks ago a man and his wife visited a Californian beach. They were excited to swim in the Pacific ocean. The waves roared, stirred by the wind. A soft blue sky draped the heavens above. Birds flew overhead. Sand squeezed between their toes. The water invited them to swim.  The man and women set up their beach chairs. She sat down and took his towel. He walked to the water's edge allowing the water to cover first his toes then his legs. He had long been a good swimmer and couldn't wait to dip his head under the salty water.  He prepared his goggles and fit them snug against his eyes then walked deeper. He stood in five feet water enjoying the wave...

Today I welcome my friend, an accomplished author who is giving, gracious, and gifted with humor: Janice Hanna Thompson .   The Very Real Story As a child, I instinctively knew how to entertain folks with my antics and my exaggeration. From the time I could offer a curtsy or a bow (anticipating that others would applaud my efforts) my mother labeled me a “ham.” She wasn’t far off in her description. I ended up going into theater, starting as an actress and eventually directing. One thing served as the glue in all of my endeavors: story. Story fueled me as a youngster while I persistently scoured the shelves at our local library for something I hadn’t already read. Story intoxicated me as I picked up the pen and crafted my first novel in sixth grade. Story propelled me as I took on roles in high school plays, pouring heart and soul into each performance. Story lit a fire in me during my college years and pacified me when I had to leave school afte...